12. TGIF

Friday.

Percy palmed a few pills and tossed them in his mouth- They looked like two small white pearls. He threw his head back, making his glasses bounce on his nose bridge, and swallowed hard.

"Were those anxiety pills or something?" I asked with a confused expression.

"No. Just some Tik Tacs," Percy said in a dramatic tone. He breathed deeply. "I'm hoping they'll act as a placebo."

"For your anxiety?"

He set his lip into a thin line. "Mhm."

We were standing by an arched doorway in a cylinder-shaped tunnel. It was a small cemented passage-way that led to the back yard. Two officers had guided Greyson through this tunnel earlier tonight to take him outside for a walk. Soon, he would have to be brought back through the archway to be led back into the Cabinet vault.

The archway was only big enough to fit 10 people comfortably, but somehow Percy appeared claustrophobic all the same. I covered my grin with a gloved hand. "Are the Tik Tacs working?"

"No," he said as if I'd just asked the dumbest question anyone had ever posed. "I just swallowed them."

"Duh, Ashlyn." I hit my forehead. "He has to give them time to dissolve."

Not able to hold back the laughter, even though my own anxiety was through the roof, I earned myself a sour look from my best friend.

"Smart ass," he huffed.

Percy and his frog-green suit were stuffed inside a heavy white hazmat suit. He and I were dressed like one of the engineer Agents. Those guys often dealt with toxic waste, ancient relicts and space debris that - often times – carried some radioactive elements. For that reason, their uniforms were designed to be impervious and be full-coverage. Meaning that, from the top of your head, right down to the tip of your toes, this uniform was made to hide everything. It was the perfect camouflage for what Percy and I were about to do. No one would ever fathom the likelihood of two investigation Agents hiding inside these hazmat suits, having stolen three of them from the PPE closet in order to sneak an alien out of the Agency.

Once Greyson was inside the spare suit, the disguise would make him practically invisible to the eye, while he walked the long hall of the building - A ghost among paranormal experts.

It's quite ironic, really.

"I still can't believe you're here with me," I admitted as Percy pouted in his corner. I could see his face because we had decided that, while we waited for Greyson and the guards to return, it was allowed to keep our masks off. No cameras were facing us under that arch, anyway. "I'm surprised you're not freaking out, and asking yourself: 'What am I doing here?'"

"Ha, ha." Percy looked down at the dart gun he was holding, and his composed derailed so abruptly that it gave me a fright. "Oh my god! What am I doing here! How the hell did I end up here?"

Here it is.

"Guess those Tic Tacs are not working, after all." I leaned against the wall behind me, keeping myself a certain distance from my frazzled Partner.

Percy was on the other side of the arch, opposite me. Both sides had sufficient space to shield us from view, but I was starting to question whether that would matter if he kept panicking like this. "Percy, you need to calm down, you're going to draw attention."

His head snapped towards me, making his red glasses nearly fall off his nose. "I can't just calm down, Ashlyn!" His glare turned into lava. I could feel his stare burn through my skin, sizzling me until I turned to ash. "Our literal lives are at stake if this doesn't go as planned!"

My lips pulled back. "Okay, for the last time. You didn't need to come here with me..."

Thankfully, his volume lowered a few notches when he spoke again: "Well, I did. And it's too late now to turn back, don't you think?"

"If that's the case, then maybe stop freaking out?"

His eyes were bulging out of their sockets. He scoffed, working his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "Fine," he said, and flung himself against the wall beside him. Lifting his hand, he began chewing on his fingernails.

I watched him with remorse, as he spat a piece of his nail on the floor. "Percy?" He glanced up at me, a furious frown on his brow. "If you want to leave, I'll understand," I said sincerely. Though, a deep fear had imbedded itself deep in my chest, and wished for me to shut the hell up. "The last thing I want is for you to feel forced to stay here with me. Please don't end up holding it against me."

"Like hell I'm leaving you behind, Girly. You can't take on two armed guards all by yourself." My mouth opened to protest, but his voice cut in: "I care about you, Ashlyn." Percy held my gaze, and I felt my eyes sting. "And I understand why you're doing what you're doing. You are helping someone in need. It's just that, well, I'm scared. I don't want either of us to end up in jail. Especially not me; I have a wife and kid to take care of."

"If by some unforeseen turn of events, we do get apprehended... I'll take the blame and tell management that I blackmailed you into help me."

His eyes bore into me like daggers. "Like shit you will. No way in hell I'm letting that happen." Percy settled into a prep position, holding his dart gun in front of his knees and peeking around the door. "God, I'm done with this conversation. Let's just get this over with."

I beamed at him. "You're the best, Perse. You know that?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Shut up." I suppressed a smirk. "Now, where the hell are those guys?"

"They shouldn't be much longer," I hoped. "I'm sure you still have time to relax and wait for those Tic Tac to take effect." I winked.

"'Relax,' she says" he mocked. "I swear to god, Ashlyn, if that alien turns out to be evil and starts a war between us and his people later on...oh, you won't hear the end of it."

"Greyson wouldn't hurt a fly," I said, "I'd be ready to bet money on it."

"Oh, you want to bet money now?" Percy arched a brow. "Let's go. How much do you want to bet?"

"I don't know!" Throwing my hand up, the one not holding on to a dart gun, I slapped my thigh in irritation. "How about a million dollars?"

His brows arched up. "A million dollars?" He looked impressed as he nodded. "You have a lot a faith in him."

"Yep, I do."

Percy eyed me suspiciously.

"What?"

"Nothing." He gave up on trying to figure me out, and settled into the corner behind him. "I hope."

I mirrored him, worry pulling in my stomach. Was it weird that I trusted Greyson so easily?

The hall was silent. The only sound was the faint sound of plastic from the hazard suits anytime Percy and I transferred our weight or moved our arms.

"But, hey, thank you again," I said, waiting for him to glance back at me before continuing. "I could not have done this without you. I know you are risking so much to help me, and I need you to know that if you ever needed anything, I owe you big time for this."

He exhaled sharply through his nose. "You sure do."

"Seriously." My hand reached out. "Thank you."

His expression softened as he reached out for my hand. Squeezing it in his, once our palms connected. "You're welcome, Ash-Girl."

We both heard a sound and I swiftly took my hand back. It sounded like footsteps.

A surge of uneasiness made me squeeze my dart gun tighter between my fingers. It was going to come handy very soon. These weapons were equipped with sedatives strong enough to paralyze a Bigfoot and put him to sleep for three hours, but apart from that, they were quite harmless, which was good because it made me feel less guilty about shooting these guards.

The voices grew near.

I stepped back, knocking some extra tranquilizer needles - with their fluffy pink tails – a few inches back with my heel. And right beside those extra needles was a hazard suit for Greyson.

My chest expended and I feared my heart might fall out. "They're approaching fast. Get ready," I told Percy.

Percy nodded, cloaking his face with the face-mask and securing it around his neck. He gave me a thumbs up, and steadied his gun in front of his face.

With a good hold of my tranquilizer gun, my chest was clashing hard against my ribcage. My mind was racing so far beyond reason, and I was beginning to doubt everything.

Breathe, I instructed myself as my mind wondered to earlier today. Percy had joined me to Everett's office, the minute I told him that the jailbreak was happening tonight. Everett had coached both of us on the best place to kidnap Greyson; An archway between the Filing Cabinet and the recreation yard outside that no one knew about.

Once we were in hazard suits, guns at hand, and our hearts in our throats, we rushed into position. It had been about two hours since then, and the guards were finally wrapping up Greyson's recess.

The Agents were so close, but I could almost make-out what they were saying. Something about a new movie about robots?

Sweat was forming at my brow. Here they come...

I readied my gun, just as Greyson turned the corner. Our eyes met and my breath fell short. There was so much in those dark eyes that went unspoken while my gun was aimed at his chest. And it only took one long, wrenching pull of my heart, before his bodyguards pushed him forward, and breached the entrance in turn.

At the first sight of a guard - a short chubby security guard with a chin dimple - my heart swelled, and my gun fired. He didn't even have a chance to notice me or Percy.

"What the hell?" Chubby said, reaching for the long needle dangling out of his shoulder. His arm was already too weak to make the full journey and he toppled forward, catching himself on the doorway. He stumbled back a few steps, finally catching sight of me, but was too drunk with tranquilizer juice to understand the situation. "Who -"

Guess I'm a better shot then I originally thought.

"Hank?" The other Agent, a tall guard with yellow hair, asked as he turned the corner and locked eyes with me. A cigarette lolled out of his mouth. "What the - "

I gave him a timid wave. "Hi."

"Who the hell are you?"

Blondie reached for his hip. But before he could take the gun from its holster, Percy had already shot him square in the back.

The guard bend backwards. "Shit!"

As if in slow motion, the cigarette dropped from the guard's lips, and his knees dove for the glossy white floor. From the way he hit the floor, face first, I wouldn't be surprised if he woke up the next morning with a broken nose. Blondie made one final grunting sound and passed out against the linoleum. The cig rolled out of his mouth, leaving a trail of tobacco in its wake.

With my chest heaving and arms and legs vibrating from the adrenaline, it wasn't long until both men were as threatening as two wet noodles on concrete.

Time stood still, before Percy gave Blondie another shot of tranquilizer, making the guard's body bounce on the floor.

Raising a brow, I gave him a questioning look.

Percy wiped forehead and shrugged. "I though he moved."

With that, I hid my gun in my pant-pocket and sighed. Behind me, Greyson stood. He was tall, so very tall. He had tucked himself against the brick wall to my left, keeping himself away from the commotion. His height made it so that he couldn't stand comfortably under the arched ceiling. I had been expecting the unusual height, his abnormal obsidian stare, and the blinding orange of his suit, but what I didn't expect, was the way his presence would make my heart rate race so rapidly.

His eyes were focused on me, making me struggle to keep my face composed. My hands were sweating, I had moths roaming the lining of my stomach. This wasn't good.

He was wearing a helmet on his head. One that Everett had explained earlier, was for the employee's protection. Even though Greyson had never admitted or shown he could use telepathy - except when I was involved, of course - the Agency still feared that the ability might one day surface. unbeknownst to them, it already had. And even though they were never able to prove it, it seemed that the precaution the guards took, like putting on a helmet on his head every time Greyson left his vault, was clearly warranted.

"We should take the helmet off, before we dress him in one of those hazard suits. If he has it underneath the mask, people will get suspicious," Percy said with controlled calmness. The reality was that his stress was just a button away from setting him off into hysteria again. "As long as he is harmless, like you said," Percy added.

I turned away from my partner, as Greyson held me in a gaze that left me feeling breathless. "I trust him."

"It has a lock," Greyson informed us, voice calm.

"One of those two bozos must have the key," Percy said, gulping down a ball of nerves. I could hear his throat work from where I stood. "Ash would you mind doing it while I keep a look out?"

My eyes sliced to the two Scientists, both of which were in graceless positions that would leave them sore once they were awake. The heavy-set man had fallen against the door in a yoga position. He seemed to be doing the cobra pose with one arm fully extended behind him as he slept. Blondie, on the other hand, who had fallen face first, was now bleeding profusely from his nose. His back was curved too, but he looked more like a dead caterpillar than someone doing yoga.

"Okay." I jogged over to the two bodies. "Must be one of these," I said, finding a set of keys dangling from the Blond one's pant loop.

Turning back to Greyson, my concentration faltered. Without my noticing, he was standing mere inches from my back. My eyes locked on his starless gaze and my jaw set tight. The moths fluttering inside me, were now throwing themselves against the pit of my stomach. Greyson seemed to notice the effect he had on me, and closed his eyes to make me more comfortable.

Gracefully, he kneeled in front of me, inclined his head to the side and closed his eyes. The headgear's design was similar to a motorbike helmet, but without the visor and he was exposing the lock on the side of his cheekbone. The strap attacked to the lock was so tightly wound against his jaw, that It almost cut off his circulation.

Disregard the way my pulse increased, my hands brushed against his cheek and I forced the first key inside the metal slot. Greyson's hand reached up, holding my leg still in front of him. He was cupping my calve with one firm hands, as if he was scared I would disappear if he let go.

My heart went out to him as I glanced down and saw his pained expression. I tried to ignore the way my stomach dipped, and the surging need that came over me that wanted to crouch down next to him and wrapping him in a hug. I wanted to shelter him and reassure him that he was going to be okay. But nothing was certain yet, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.

I gulped, when my fingers accidentally grazed his jaw again. He opened his eyes slowly, his sideways gaze flicking up to me. His stare scorched my skin as I fumbled through the set of keys, and I was beginning to forget which ones I had already tried.

Percy gave me a weary look and I felt my heart flutter. "We need to hurry, Ashlyn," he told me, just as I was encouraging myself not to panic. "We don't have all night."

I inserted another key inside the lock. "I know," I snarled, just as the lock snapped open. "Got it!"

"Great, let's go."

Pulling the helmet off of his head, Greyson revealed a messy set of black hair. Even though his hand no longer held my calf, my skin still tingled at the sensation. His hand seemed to have left and imprint, even though I was wearing two lairs of clothing where his hand had been.

Greyson let the aluminum casing of the helmet fall to the ground, and it resonated across the tunnel like a hammer hitting a church bell.

"Hey!" Percy growled at him. "Keep it down, will ya?"

Greyson winced, and I nearly barked at Percy to back off. I had no idea where this overprotective instinct had sprouted from, but I felt a strong desire to shield Greyson from anything that caused him unease.

"Hurry up and get him inside that suit." Percy told me, waving his gun at the extra hazard suit. "Quickly."

Greyson and I – still within close range of each other – turned our attention to the white outfit by my feet.

Picking up the suit, Greyson stood up before me. He was past six feet tall, and I wasn't certain that suit was going to fit him perfectly. I made a small silent payer as he pulled the rubbery fabric over his legs, torso and all the way up to the square of his shoulders.

His skin was surprisingly beautiful against the white color of the fabric. And before I knew it, my hands were reaching up to fix his collar. It was only when our eyes met that I realised how close I had gotten to him. Greyson tilted his head quizzically and my hands halted.

Am I making you nervous, Ashlyn?

His voice gave me a start. I had almost forgotten how invasive that telepathically of his was.

A breath whooshed out of me. Stay out of my head.

"Looks like it fits," Percy said.

I'm sorry. I'll try.

Red in the face, I nodded. And soon, we all had our individual face-covering helmets on, we treaded onward towards the exit.

"Stay close to me," I told Greyson, keeping to his side.

"That's not going to be a problem," he whispered, brushing his arm against mine as we walked on.

My heart blooms inside my chest.

"Greyson, right?" Percy asked. Greyson nodded. "You'll need to hold this stalk of reports." He handed him a pile of papers. Greyson took the pile without protest and turned the words right side up. "Pretend to scan through these as we walk. We might run into some late working employees when we cross the north wing, just past the elevators, but no one will ask you any questions if they think you're hard at work."

"Especially if they think you're dealing with something 'dangerous' or 'classified," The hazmat suit will help with that," I explained quietly.

Percy gestured to me with his head. "Her idea," he told Greyson.

"She's smart," Greyson said, throwing me a lingering glance.

Now in his outstretched suit and dark mask, Greyson looked like any other Agent and my heart was finally able to settle a bit. A small, tiny bit.

Greyson kept close to me the whole way to my car. And when I noticed his grip tightening around that stalk of papers with panic, I would lean in a bit closer, hoping it might comfort him.

It seemed to work a bit.

I appreciate that, he admitted as my arm pressed against his side.

Startled once again, I ended up nearly running into an elderly woman. One more step and I would have fallen on top of her.

She had come out of nowhere, stepping out from of the corridor to my right, without paying attention to oncoming workers. All I saw, before I almost stumbled forward and crashed, was the white of her pixie haircut and the white of Greyson's sleeve as he twisted his arm around me. I missed the woman by a hair, thanks to him.

With his arm across my shoulders and my back flushed against his front, I felt frozen, and my heart flipped-flopped behind my ribcage.

The woman eyes jumped out of their sockets. "Watch where you're going, young man!" She yelled at me.

As my heart tried to hammer through my sternum, I scrambled for something to say.

She huffed. "Next time you run around like this, watch out for your peers. I just had a hip surgery last week, and I really hope, for your sake, that I won't get to go back anytime soon. If I do, I will sue your sorry ass."

My mouth fell open.

"Forgive us, we-" Percy tried.

She lifted a stern hand to shut him up. Greyson flinched against me, as if he thought she was going to hit Percy. Next, with an aggravated huff, the woman turned on her heels, and walked off without another word.

"Charming," Percy commented.

I sighed, "that was a close one." Looking up, I could tell Greyson was in a bit of a shock. "Are you okay?"

Greyson looked down at me and his body seemed to relax instantly.

He nodded, released me, and waited for Percy and I to lead the way onward. There was a part of me that wanted him to hold me again. I missed his warmth already.

When we arrived at my car, the parking lot looked just about empty.

Many cameras were pointing in our direction, but we needn't worry about those; the films would be deleted by morning, and edited by Everett at a later time.

Unzipping the top of the suit, I fished my car keys from my bra. "Greyson, you'll need to get in the truck," I told him as I pressed the open button on my key fob. When the latch opened, it unveiled a pale blue blanket, some mini pillows and a full 2L bottle of water. "I really hope he fits in there," I whispered to Percy as he came to stand by my side. "It's a three-hour trip to the mountains. And then, about another hour until we get to the cabin. It's going to be a difficult ride."

"I'm used to tight spaces," Greyson reminded me as he lifted one leg into the trunk. "I'm sure I'll manage just fine."

Even with his confidence, it was painful to watch Greyson contort himself into the tiny space. I help the top of the trunk door, watching him settle into a passible, comfortable position. "Tell me when you're ready for me to close the door."

"I'm ready," he said, giving me a reassuring nod.

Closing the trunk, I plunged Greyson - and my distant future - into complete darkness.

I let out a heavy breath. "This is all happening so fast."